Welcome to the headwaters of the Verde River!

Del Rio Springs Ranch is a project located at the headwaters of the Verde River in Chino Valley, Arizona.  Covering nearly 1,000 acres of land, the partners are dedicated to protecting important ecological sites, preserving some extraordinary history of the region, and creating outdoor recreation opportunities. 

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Protecting Nature:   The land includes Sullivan Lake (photo above), at the start of the Verde River and created by a dam built as part of the WPA - a New Deal agency - in the 1930s.  It also includes land around Del Rio Springs.   The Springs are created by an underground creek that surfaces here, and historically provided water to the City of Prescott and (by railroad car) for the communities of Ash Fork, Williams, Seligman and the south rim of the Grand Canyon.  An active bald eagle nest is located right next to these springs.

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Preserving History:  Some amazing history happened on this land.   In 1863, the first capital of the Arizona territory was located here for about six months before being relocated to Prescott.   From 1910s to 1950s, the land was used for the Fred Harvey Farm; eggs, poultry, ice and other fresh produce came from this farm to supply all the Fred Harvey hotels and restaurants along the railroad from Santa Fe to Los Angeles.   Today a number of historic buildings from that period are still found on the property (such as this wonderful milking barn shown below).

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Creating Outdoor Recreation:  The land contains an old railroad bed that will enable the Peavine National Recreation Trail, which starts over 20 miles away in the City of Prescott and passes through Town of Chino Valley, to be extended the last five miles to reach the start of the Verde River.   This is one of the few rail-to-trail projects in Arizona.   The use of the land for a new state park will create a number of great ways for people to connect to the outdoors, such as tent camping, trails around Del Rio Springs and Sullivan Lake and nature watching.   And Upper Sullies Canyon, along the river gorge and just next to the lake, should continue to be a great place for rock climbing.

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Main project partners include:

Arizona State Parks & Trails

Town of Chino Valley

Yavapai County

Trust for Public Land

Nature Conservancy of Arizona

Yavapai Trails Association

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Project funders include:

State of Arizona

Yavapai County

Bob O'Rear and Jim Brown

Nature Conservancy

Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust